Netcare medics successfully treated a Dutch tourist’s spinal fracture, ensuring safe surgery, rehabilitation, and a smooth return home.
A Dutch tourist who suffered a spinal compression fracture in a boating accident in St Lucia has returned to South Africa to mark her recovery and thank the medical team at Netcare St Anne’s Hospital’s Level 1 trauma centre in Pietermaritzburg for the exceptional care she received.
Manon Rouwette-Janssen and her husband first visited South Africa 24 years ago on a camping tour that included Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
“Somehow the light in South Africa is different, with beautiful sunsets. The people here are very friendly and we like how multicultural your country is.
Dutch tourist recovers from serious spinal injury in St Lucia
“Two years ago, we visited again because we wanted to see more of South Africa and share this experience with our children, including seeing wildlife in its natural habitat,” she said.
While visiting St Lucia, Rouwette-Janssen was injured on a boat and had to be transported by Netcare 911 helicopter emergency medical services to the emergency department at Netcare St Anne’s Hospital for urgent care.
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“As a Dutch tourist, I felt extremely vulnerable in a foreign hospital with a broken back.
“I cannot express my gratitude enough, not only for the high standard of medical care, but also for the approachability of the health care team, for the high level of personal care, the personal approach and sense of involvedness I felt during my stay,” said Rouwette-Janssen, of Helmond in the Netherlands.
Netcare St Anne’s Hospital is one of only four private level 1 trauma centres accredited by the Trauma Society of South Africa. Its emergency department is equipped to treat even the most critical and complex injuries.
Treating the most critical and complex injuries
The trauma surgeon ordered a CT scan and Rouwette-Janssen was then referred to neurosurgeon Dr Sandile Ngwenya to assess and treat her spinal injury.
“We requested an MRI scan to see exactly what was happening,” Ngwenya said.
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“An intervertebral disc was compressing Rouwette-Janssen’s spinal cord from the back and it was clear she would need surgery before she could travel home to the Netherlands.
“As she was a tourist, we had to engage with her travel insurance to explain that if she were to travel home to Europe in this precarious situation, she could be exposed to further, potentially life-changing spinal cord injury.
“As we have the neurosurgical expertise to manage her injury right here, we persuaded the insurance company to let us do what was in the best interests of our patient and perform the spinal decompression and spinal fusion surgery she needed.”
Travelling while lying horizontally back to Netherlands
After the intricate spinal surgery, she was transferred to the high care unit to begin rehabilitation.
Ngwenya also engaged with the insurance company to explain that it was imperative that Rouwette-Janssen remain lying horizontally for the flight back to the Netherlands and motivated for additional plane seats to accommodate her.
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